


Landwalker

by AMidnightDreary



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Kid Loki (Marvel), Kid Tony Stark, Loki (Marvel) Feels, M/M, MerMay, Merman Tony Stark, Sailing, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-04-05 16:55:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19044538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AMidnightDreary/pseuds/AMidnightDreary
Summary: Tony saved Loki from drowning when they were children. Now, Loki is seconds away from falling, and maybe Tony can save him again.





	Landwalker

**Author's Note:**

> My phone, May 31th: Remember your mermay story!
> 
> Me: ?? I didn't get it done in time?
> 
> My phone: Not that one! You finished another mer story in January and wanted to save it for mermay!
> 
> Me: ... Oh.

Loki wasn't prepared for the wave when it hit him. He was busy trying to get his boat - not much more than a raft, really - under control again, muttering spells under his breath as wind and water and thunder clamoured around him. 

The thunder was the worst part of this, and it was also the last thing he heard before that wave hurled him off his raft. He was swallowed by the sea, then, and all too soon he couldn't tell apart up and down anymore, all too soon cold and burning water found its way into his lungs, all too soon Loki had what he believed to be his very last clear thought -

_ I'm drowning. _

 

~•~

 

He didn't drown.

Loki woke up who could say how many hours later, blinking against the glaring light of a too hot sun. His throat felt dry and tight, his heavy tongue grinding against the roof of his mouth like emery. It flicked over his chapped lips, trying to wet them. Apart from a rhythmic splatter and the soft whooshing of water, it was completely silent.

Loki had to cough when he eventually managed to sit up, ignoring the steady ache in every part of his body. His breaths sounded rattling in his ears. He looked around and found that he was still at sea, which seemed to have calmed down. The horizon was a far away and even line and the water impossibly calm. The sky was clear and vast and so so blue; the dark clouds had disappeared. 

And there, in front of him, Loki could see land. It was still far away, but not unreachable, and when he squinted he could even make out the golden towers of the palace.

The odd thing was that they seemed to inch closer.

Loki frowned and coughed again, his heart skipping a beat when he realized that his boat was  _ moving _ . It was entirely windless - not that wind would have been of much use at this point; the already small sail of Loki's raft was completely torn - and the boat shouldn't be moving, shouldn't be  _ able _ to move. Not on its own, anyway. For a moment Loki wondered if one of his spells had been successful, but he realized quickly that his magic was as silent as the sea.

Then his eyes fell on the rope that was fastened to the tiller of the raft.

Loki swallowed, his throat hurting, and scrambled to get onto his knees. He skittered closer to the edge, eyes fixed on the rope that looked old and two seconds away from tearing. It was bow-taut, and the water was just clear enough that Loki could follow the rope with his eyes, which lead him to realizing that his boat wasn't moving on its own, but that it was  _ pulled. _

There was a fish pulling Loki's boat back to the coast.

Only that it  _ wasn _ ' _ t _ a fish, even though the broad fins and the glittering scales seemed to imply that. But no, what Loki saw was a  _ tail _ , deep red and shining golden where the light fell on it just right, with fins at the end and also at the sides, and at the end of that tail - or at the top? - there was a body. A body that looked entirely human; Loki could see a back and arms and a head -

His mouth had long fallen open, and he didn't move for several long minutes. But then he forced himself to close his mouth, then hesitantly reached out. His fingers felt for the rope underwater. It slipped out of his grip a few times, but eventually he had a good enough hold of it to tug at it. Once, then again with a little more force and a third time, and then -

The creature spinned around underwater, their tail keeping to move them forward. They stayed below the surface, but Loki could still make out the silhouettes of a face, a golden shimmer that might have belonged to a pair of eyes. Then, the tail stopped moving, making the raft come to a slow halt, and the creature - the person - turned around and swam toward Loki with a few strong strokes of his tail. A head emerged, then shoulders, and hand reached out to grip the edge of the raft.

And Loki found himself looking into the face of a merman. Though the word mer _ man _ might be exaggerating it a little, because he couldn't be much older than Loki himself - a merboy, Loki decided, even though he hadn't ever heard that term before.

The merboy grinned, which allowed Loki to see teeth that looked a little bit sharp. The color of his eyes was like liquid amber, his hair brown and short and curling slightly as water dropped from it onto his face. His ears were lined with golden fins, just like the spaces between his fingers. What Loki could see of the mer's shoulders and arms was littered with red scales here and there, but mostly it was just tanned skin that looked remarkably like that of an Aesir.

There was no mistaking him for an Aesir, though. Loki had never seen anything more strange, more otherworldly.

"Hello, landwalker", the merboy said, surprisingly friendly. "You're not dead, that's good."

Loki swallowed and studied the other's face, trying to recover from the shock of speaking to an actual  _ mer. _ "You… saved me."

The grin widened, and the boy's tail flicked beneath the water - excited, maybe, or amused. "Yes."

"Thank you", Loki said carefully. None of his teachers had taught him what to say in a situation like this.

"You're welcome." The amber eyes wandered over the rather miserable remains of Loki's raft. "This…  _ thing _ … It's not really suited for weathering a storm like that one last night."

Loki felt his eyes go round. "Last  _ night _ ?"

The mer hummed and rested his arms on the edge of the raft, looking up at Loki with curious eyes. "You slept for a long time."

Loki glanced at the sun, which stood so high in the sky that it must have been almost noon already. Damn. This would earn him at least a few weeks of house arrest.

"Didn't you know that a storm was coming?"

Loki looked back at his savior and frowned at the amused glint in those golden eyes. "Of course I knew", he lied.

"So you're just stupid, then." 

"Or very brave", Loki corrected, and the mer laughed.

"If you prefer that, sure."

Apparently, merpeople were rude. Or perhaps it was just this one. Loki wasn't particularly bothered by that; he was too fascinated by the fact that merfolk  _ existed _ at all.

"Do you have a name?", he asked, curious.

"No", the other replied, his tone impressively dry for someone who lived underwater. "We're not civilized enough for that."

Loki huffed. "Well, that's exactly what our stories say about your folk."

"And our stories say that the Aesir are ignorant assholes." Another sharp grin. "I think I know which stories are right."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Do you have a name now or not?"

The mer laughed again; he seemed to find this entertaining. "I'm Tony."

"Tony", Loki repeated. Odd name, but he nodded and held out his hand. "Loki."

Tony's gaze wandered down to Loki's hand and back to his eyes, then he reached out and touched his wet palm to Loki's. Something flared up in his eyes, something Loki quickly recognized as curiosity. Tony trailed his finned fingers over Loki's palm, following the movement with his eyes.

It was the oddest handshake Loki had ever experienced, and he quickly pulled his hand back.

"You know of the Aesir?", he asked then.

It was Tony's turn to roll his eyes. "Obviously" He nodded at Loki's ripped tunic. "I recognized your clothes. You're clearly one of them."

"It seems you don't like us very much", Loki said. "Why did you save me, then?"

"I could."

"Yes, but that can hardly be the reason."

"Why not?" Tony cocked his head, the look in his eyes serious all of a sudden. "I could. Is that not a good enough reason?"

He looked at Loki like he was judging him, and Loki didn't like to be judged. "I haven't heard yet that the merpeople were naive, but apparently I should make some additions to those stories."

"Oh, yeah. Don't forget the part where you would've died without me."

Loki decided that a glare was the best possible response to that. Tony was grinning again. Loki proceeded to ignore him and got on his feet, swaying only a little. Hel, his head hurt. 

"You should lie back down", Tony suggested idly. "I can -"

"You can go now, thank you."

Loki concentrated on the remains of the sail. He could repair that, he knew that he could. He had already managed to repair a few broken cups, why should a sail be any different? He took a deep breath and called upon his magic, whispering some words that were meant to give him better control, and imagined what the sail  _ should _ look like -

The world started spinning, and Loki faltered. He tried to hold onto to ripped sail, but the fabric gave in and he fell, slipping on the raft and tumbling right over the edge.

The water was cold and  _ wet _ , and Loki was definitely annoyed now. He swam back to the surface and grabbed the raft for support, coughing a little.

"You can swim!"

Loki scowled at Tony, who still hadn't disappeared. He was directly next to Loki, in fact, close enough that Loki could feel the movements of Tony's tail in the water.

"Of course I can swim", Loki snapped, running a hand through his wet hair to get it out of his eyes.

Tony looked sincerely confused. "But you almost drowned last night."

Yes, because Loki wasn't a  _ good _ swimmer. Loki wasn't good at anything, except magic. And that didn't count.

"Not everyone is able to breathe underwater", Loki informed him and pushed himself up to sit on the raft.

So. He had to think. He couldn't repair the sail, he didn't even have paddles. Swimming all the way to land was not an option, either, because apparently almost drowning had taken its toll and he really  _ wasn't _ a good swimmer - at least not good enough.

This started to be a little bit of a problem.

"This sucks, huh?"

Loki looked down at Tony, who was supporting himself on the raft, his chin propped up on his hand. 

"I mean, you're stuck here", he continued, gesturing around with his other hand. "And the shore is sooo far away. If there only was  _ someone _ who could help you."

Loki narrowed his eyes. Tony raised a brow, grinning from ear to ear, and after a moment Loki gave in.

"Fine", he hissed. "Would you  _ please _ consider helping me get back to the shore? I would be  _ eternally _ grateful."

"And in my debt."

Loki clenched his teeth, but he dutifully repeated, " _ And _ in your debt."

"Awesome!" Tony submerged, making Loki blink, but just a few seconds later he reappeared on the other end of the boat. "I'll push it, that way we can talk."

"Talk?"

"Yeah." Tony patted the raft. ""Come here."

Loki rolled his eyes, but he sat down. Tony began to push the raft, his head staying above water. Loki couldn't help but stare at Tony's tale, at the blood red scales, the golden gleam… He had never seen anything like it before, and he quickly found himself mesmerized by the sight.

"So", Tony said, making Loki look at him again. "You have magic?"

Loki nodded, a little hesitantly.

"That's so cool! I've always wanted to have some, too, but I think it skipped my generation or something. You're still learning though, right?"

Loki stared at him for a moment, then nodded again.

"Thought so. But I'm sure you'll soon learn a lot more stuff and then you can use your magic for sailing, too. Jarvis always says that you can really good at everything with enough practice."

Loki blinked. "Jarvis?"

"Our butler. Why do you want to learn how to sail?"

"I know how to sail."

"Why do you want to know how to sail  _ properly _ ?"

"How do you know that?"

"How do I know what?"

"That I want to learn how to sail. Properly."

"Oh." Tony looked at Loki, then down at his hands that were still holding onto the boat as he pushed it forward. "You've been trying to learn for a while now. I saw you."

Loki stared at him. "You watched me?"

A shrug. "I haven't seen a lot of landwalkers. I was curious." Before Loki could say anything else, Tony asked, "Why do you always come out here at night?"

"It's really none of your business."

"Hm." Tony seemed to think that over for a while, then he said, "You  _ did _ agree to be in my debt. Answer my questions, and we're even."

Loki sighed. "What do you want to know?"

Tony's by now familiar grin returned. "Everything."

 

~•~

 

So Loki told him everything.

He told him that, while the Aesir weren't exactly sailors - the end of Asgard's seas marked the end of Asgard, and they used their flying ships to defend themselves and the Bifrost to conquer other realms -, they still held races every two decades. It was a chance for the young Aesir to prove themselves, and Loki, as the second prince, was not only expected to take part, he was expected to  _ win. _ As was Thor, of course, and  _ Thor _ \- Thor had taken part in his first race a couple of decades ago, and he had won every single one since then.

Loki's first race would be in just a few days. And he knew how to sail, but he was small for his age and thin, and just not good  _ enough _ . He wasn't allowed to use his magic, so he didn't even have a slight chance to win. Not against his older brother, anyway. 

He had practiced in silence, at night when nobody could watch him, as if that would make him stronger, or better. And Tony had watched him those few nights Loki had spent at sea, and Tony had been there when Loki had been swallowed by the waves.

"There's not much more to tell", Loki said then, his tone sad. They were nearing the coast; a small, hidden bay where Loki could come ashore without being noticed.

"Why do you want to win so badly?", Tony asked.

"They all think I can't."

Tony kept quiet at first, but eventually he said, "You're not that bad. You know, for an Aesir."

"You're not that bad, either." Loki made himself smile. "For a mer."

Tony smiled, too, much brighter than Loki. "What would you say if I offered to help you win that race?"

Loki blinked. "I would say, that would be cheating."

"And?"

"And", Loki said, his smile turning into a much more sincere grin, "that I am very interested in hearing the details of your plan."

 

~•~

 

Loki hopped off the raft twenty minutes later. He waved back at Tony and then watched as the mer disappeared, the golden glint of his scales being the last thing Loki saw of him.

Sadly, Loki was put under house arrest, just like he expected. That also included being  _ excluded _ from the race. He sat at his window, which allowed him a generous view over the sea, and watched as Thor lost for the first time.

Loki never saw Tony again.

But, from there on, he won every single race he entered.

 

~•~

 

That was what Loki thought about now. 

He sat in his sailboat that was a little better than that raft from so long ago, but not by much. He had stolen it from a fisher. It was night, and the sky was clear and filled with stars. He had steered the boat so far away from the coast that he couldn't see the palace anymore. 

He did that often. Ever since that one night in which he almost drowned, Loki had taken a liking to sailing, a liking to the  _ sea _ . He often sailed out here at night, without any competition, just himself and a boat and the ocean.

Tonight, it didn't grant him the peace it usually did.

He thought about Tony. He remembered him as clear as day, as if they had just seen each other yesterday. And he believed that they had been friends, somehow. Or that they might have become friends. 

Friends. With a mer.

Sometimes, in dark moments - and there had been a lot of dark moments recently. This was one of them. Sometimes Loki wondered if he had ever met Tony at all, or if the boy with finned ears and golden eyes had been a dream, a play of colors on the water. Everybody knew that the merfolk only existed in legends anymore, after all. Everybody knew that they had died long, long ago; that they had died in a war they had begun, because they hadn't wanted to share Asgard's seas.

And everybody also knew that they had been cruel, and dangerous. That they pulled sailors out of their boats for fun, and that the bones of those Aesir gathered on the ocean ground in many places.

Friends.

Loki wrapped his arms around himself and averted his eyes from the sky, closing them. He breathed the salty air and wondered how long it would take until the stream would make the boat topple over the edge of Asgard. He would fall into nothingness, then, into the endlessness of the Void, just like he had wanted.

Loki Laufeyson would not get a hero's funeral. His body would not dissolve into sparks of light. He would not get a place in the sky, the stars would not form a new constellation for him. 

No. Loki  _ Laufeyson _ would fall, and nothing else.

"Hello, landwalker."

Loki opened his eyes. He saw him immediately, the light of stars and moon was enough - and yes, there he was, his arms resting on the edge of Loki's boat, his eyes as golden as Loki remembered. His hair was almost dry. He must have watched Loki for a long time.

Somehow, Loki managed a smile. "Hello."

"You're not dead", Tony said, and he was smiling, too. "That's good."

Apart from the color of his hair and the ears and the eyes, his face looked nothing like the one Loki still saw in his memories, and in quite a lot of dreams. It was the face of a young man now, with a defined jawline that had lost all boyish roundness. He wore a beard, too, a goatee that framed his smirking lips.

The eyes were the same. Almost. They seemed sadder than Loki recalled.

"Did you think me dead?", Loki asked.

"Sometimes." The raft wobbled a little; Tony was moving his tail. "You won a lot of races."

"Yes." 

"You haven't entered any lately."

"They lost their appeal."

"Why?"

Loki shrugged. "They didn't help me prove anything."

"I'm sorry", Tony said. "I wish we had seen each other again sooner."

He hauled himself up and sat on the raft, splashing water onto it all. Loki's eyes fell to the merman's shoulders, to his torso, to his waist. He found himself having an odd urge to count those blood red scales.

"Yes", Loki breathed. "Me too."

"Come here."

Loki obeyed. He sat down next to Tony, letting his legs fall into the water. He looked at Tony's tail, which was a lot longer and more beautiful than Loki remembered. In this light, the deep red looked almost black.

"I should have come to you sooner", Tony said quietly. "But you weren't ready."

"Ready for what?", Loki asked, but Tony just shrugged. 

He had turned his upper body toward Loki, his tail flapping a little beneath them, and now he lifted his hand to cup Loki's face. His fingertips were calloused, but their touch was gently as they traced the line of Loki's jaw, stroked over his lower lip.

"You're more beautiful than I remember."

Somehow, it made Loki laugh. "I just thought the same thing."

Tony smiled, and he  _ was _ beautiful. He let his hand sink; Loki mourned the loss. His eyes wandered over Tony's frame and stopped at his chest. Loki reached out and trailed his fingers over the thick tissue of scars.

"What happened to you?"

"What happened to  _ you _ ?", Tony countered.

Loki swallowed. His hand moved lower and eventually he touched the beginning of Tony's tail. The scales were surprisingly smooth to the touch, and warm. 

"I'm not a prince anymore", Loki said. "I broke out of a cell. But now I… don't know where to go."

Tony hummed. He leaned closer, close enough to nuzzle Loki's cheek. Soft lips brushed Loki's skin, sharp teeth scraped gently over his jaw. His breath hitched, eyes falling closed; he didn't know what Tony was doing.

"I might have an idea", Tony said quietly. He pulled away just far enough that they could look into each other's eyes again.

"An idea?", Loki echoed. His voice was rough.

"Yes." Tony ran his hand through Loki's hair. "I don't want to see you fall."

"Do you want to see me drown?"

"No", Tony replied calmly, kissing Loki's cheek, his jaw, his lips. "I think I proved that when we were children."

Loki didn't have anything to say. He looked into Tony's amber eyes and saw nothing but concern and sincerity, but Loki didn't know who to trust anymore. He still wondered if this was just a play of colors.

"I can save you, Loki", Tony promised, both of his hands coming up to cup Loki's face now.

"But why do you  _ want _ to?", Loki whispered, his voice breaking.

"I can", Tony said again, and he kissed Loki again, and Loki kissed back.

Tony's lips tasted like salt. For the first time since his world had fallen apart, Loki felt like he could breathe again.

Not much later, Tony slipped back into the water, and he pulled Loki down with him.

  
  



End file.
